Rugby League and Family

[cpwigan]

Cheers everybody

[mike binder]

sorry to hear of your loss cpwigan ,rugby is the 1 thing me and my family do together,home and away .Shame hell miss seeing mr noble turning us in to a great team again as im sure he will,but im sure hell be up in heaven watching down on us all nowOur thoughts are with you and all your family

[dutchy]

I know how you are feeling, i lost my grandad 12months ago in july and he also was a rugby fanatic, he used to be the steward of the old rugby club at central park in the years when Billy Boston was playing.He was a season ticket holder for many years and even went to wembly every year no matter who was playing .He was always there to give advice to my son who as been playing rugby for 7 years and he only turns 13 in august, he plays stand off and my grandad always said to him " never take the dummy cos if you do and they score its your fault and you look stupid but if you dont and they still score then at least you tried" so when he past away my son asked if he could go and see him i was a bit unsure at first but he said he would be ok as he wanted to give him something to take with him. He put his signed wigan shirt in the coffin with a home made card saying "Dont worry i'll always remember NEVER TAKE THE DUMMY" and this is his message he always passes on to his team mates. memories like this live on and keep our family smiling .

[Scudley]

cpwigan posted:
Early Thursday morning my father passed away.

We spent late night Wednesday watching Wigan v Warrington together. He could no longer attend matches. I can now think of nothing better than sharing that enjoyment and just how important rugby league was to us both and our family. My father bought me my season ticket for umpteen seasons, we stood on the Spion Kop together, never missing a match. He would talk about the old days when if he was lucky he was picked from 1 of 3 lads to go to matches with my great uncle and sit in the 'hen pens' (?) around the perimeter wall. He'd talk of Brian Mctigue slipping passes, Boston/Bevan/Van Vol/Gasnier, Punchy Griffiths breaking people in two with crunching try saving tackles, seeing Lewis Jones come to Central Park and kicking touch finders diagonally from one corner to the other, the great matches, the Wigan v Saints record attendance, Mick Sullivan getting Murphy sent off. We watched all the great recent teams, never missed a Wembley, nights like Manly. One of my proudest moments is the last match we attended together, the Cardiff Challenge Cup Final when 3 generations of males in our family sat together and watched our team that day. He never lost faith in the team even during this season. His best friend in latter years was an avid Saints supporter. It never mattered.

My father was once the best footballer in Wigan yet he always watched the rugby and said you see more entertainment in 5 minutes of rugby league than a whole match of football. He loved sport for what it was, a field, a game, a contest where who you were, what background you were from, who you knew, how much money you had never mattered. Sport for him embodyed the ultimate contest, the one where the real man was exposed for all to see. Where mateship, loyalty etc was akin to that of your family. People always said to him he played the wrong sport he used to smile and then he would tell them about playing versus Bill Ashurst at soccer.

Until the last 2 days I never truly considered the importance of rugby league and the role it can play. For me I now have precious memories that shall never die. RIP Dad

So sorry to hear of your loss cpwigan, i lost my Dad in January and we never missed a Wakey game or challenge cup final for the last 15 years. My thoughts are with all your family at this time. Just shows the importance of the RL family keep your chin up kid....

[Wayne's World]

Sorry to hear of the loss of your dad. Our thoughts are with. (Mrs Binder and family) xxxx

[Wigan Watcher]

I totally understand everything you have said and to be honest it home with me.

I lost one of my best mates a few years ago, my grandad.

We went to most matches home and away, I use to get annoyed at him being slow when trying to get into a ground, I have many memories for most grounds, what we did what we said. Both me and him are on the Manly video, he looks squarely into the camera. I struggle watching it now, rugby was a part of my life with my grandad we lived and breathed the game together, the travelling together, the Wembley trips, the breaking down in the car it was great. He had the art of getting players names wrong all the time but after that he knew his rugby like the best of us, he use to tell me stories of his day and the great players of that era. If I heard a story of a sergeant major Clegg the referee once I heard it a thousand times.

Boy did he get on my nerves, he always grabbed my arm to express a point and I would miss part of the action because of it.

Boy do I miss him and would give anything to have him back getting on my nerves again. My rugby days have changed since he has gone.

I can hear him giving his opinion on this Wigan side now

My best rugby mate is still with me in my heart, I can’t see him, I can’t hear him but I know he is there.

I loved my grandad.